Baku, April 18, AZERTAC
Security will be tight during next month’s Eurovision Song Contest in the southern Sweden city of Malmo, police said Wednesday, citing demonstrations that could lead to unrests and a heightened threat of terrorism in the Scandinavian country, according to AP.
“The security is going to be rigorous,” Petra Stenkula, head of police area in Malmo, said according to Swedish broadcaster TV4.
Last year Sweden heightened its terror threat level one notch to “high,” the fourth of five levels, for the first time since 2016 amid a deteriorating security situation following recent burnings of the Quran that triggered protests in the Muslim world.
There is no law in Sweden specifically prohibiting the burning or desecration of religious texts. Like many Western countries, Sweden doesn’t have any blasphemy laws.
“Freedom of expression is strong in Sweden,” Stenkula said, according to the Malmo newspaper, Sydsvenska. “Now we first have to assess the application that has been received, then we have to see if it gets permission.”